ISSN 2345-8461

Ktindg
Volume 2 Issue 7 * October, 2013 * 24pages

An official publication of the IPDEV Project, Empowering Indigenous Peoples in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao

WHATS INSIDE? 3 - To break the silence 6 - Breathing life into IP farming practices 9 - Going beyond duty 9 - IPDEV radio program airs 12 - Snapshots: Discovering best practices 14 - NCIP in ARMM, why not? 15 - To Give what is rightfully theirs 18 - Firming up every step 20 - A ritual of approval 22 - A simple Menuvu wedding

THIS PROJECT IS SUPPORTED BY THE EUROPEAN UNION

DEVCON Recognition of the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao for Empowerment and Sustainable Development (IPDEV) is a project implemented by the consortium: Konrad Adenauer Stiftung e.V., Institute for Autonomy and Governance (IAG) and DEVCON Development Consultants Inc.

Development Consultants Inc.

Ktindg, in Teduray roughly means standing up for something, making one be seen and be felt among the many. The word is not far from the Cebuano, Tagalog or Maguindanao variations of tindog, tindig and tindeg respectively. It is a fitting title for a regular publication that attempts to capture the experiences gathered in this journey of recognizing the rights of the Lumad in the ARMM. With this issue, we would like to thank everyone supporting the projects aims, and acknowledge those who are always striving to make IPDEV as fruitful, meaningful and sustainable as possible. You make IPDEV a continously inspiring project. Fiyo teresang!

To find out more about IPDEV:

facebook.com/ipdevarmm @ketind3g
for IPDEV videos and radio recordings.
Texts and visual concepts: ROMMEL G. REBOLLIDO in coordination with IPDEV

IPDEV ADVOCATE MS. FROILYN MENDOZA WROTE A LETTER TO HER FELLOW INDIGENOUS PEOPLES ON JULY 18, 2013. MENDOZA IS ONE OF TWO IP REPRESENTATIVES TO THE TRANSITION COMMISSION, TASKED TO HAMMER OUT A BASIC LAW FOR THE BANGSAMORO, AN ENTITY SET TO REPLACE THE AUTONOMOUS REGION IN MUSLIM MINDANAO, A RESULT OF ON-GOING PEACE NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN THE PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT AND THE MORO ISLAMIC LIBERATION FRONT. 3

To break the silence

MY BELOVED Indigenous Community within and outside the core area of Bangsamoro: I attended a forum ( on July 17, 2013) organized by Institute for Autonomy and Governance where the Annex on Wealth Sharing was discussed. This is part of the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) that would serve as guide for the Transition Commission members in drafting the Bangsamoro Basic Laws (BBL). Just like the earlier contents of the FAB, there is no involvement of the Indigenous Peoples in the Wealth Sharing. It was never mentioned in the Annex signed by the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Clearly, the FAB and the Annex on Wealth Sharing is silent on the Indigenous Communities. While the division, partition and tax imposition on the natural resources

MILESTONES & EVENTS

August 2013 Tiyawan Video Documentary on Indigenous Conflict Resolution is released

August 3, 2013 Maiden broadcast of Balitang Lumad on DXMY, 10-11am Saturdays

of the Bangsamoro has been discussed as guidance for the Annex, I still look for the principles of the Indigenous Communities principles that have been transferred and shared by my Ancestors. I am an indigenous person and I remain true to the perspective as IP; this is why I looked at every page of the Annex on Wealth Sharing and looked for words that tell about protecting Mother Earth. There is no such statement in the stipulated partition and tax imposition that mentioned about it. It is sad and alarming if this would be the basis of the Bangsamoro Economic package. Would this mean to say that we will be opening the Bangsamoro to a comprehensive and wide-scale mining that would consequently destroy our Mother Nature? We have depended on Nature for the longest time, now it is our Nature who depends on us; And now, Mother Earth is in great pain and agony. Maintaining a good relationship between people with their environmental space is important in our principles something that may be simple but it is noble, a proof that the Indigenous communities continuously put into practice their felindagan or cosmos, ke etew or identity.

There was a consultation conducted together with the different tribal leaders within and outside the core areas of the Bangsamoro to get their initial understanding pertaining the Bangsamoro Basic Law. They looked into the basic principles and policies, rights of the Indigenous peoples, scope of power for institutions to be installed within and outside the core areas, relationship of the Bangsamoro to the National Government, revenue generation and wealth sharing, ancestral domain, and the administration of justice. There is a continuous process of consultations, getting and accommodating suggestions on these important matters. There is a strong call from the Indigenous Communities to: Recognize the distinct identity of the Indigenous Communities within and outside the core areas, including the recognition of one important component and that is the Ancestral Domain and their inherent rights. These are the important components that have been left silent in the FAB and the Annexes. If this would be granted with clarity, then the Indigenous Communities will have a clear understanding of the system of partition of the natural

August 5-6, 2013 Conference on Muslim Historiography After Majul, National Historical Commission

August 9, 2013 World IP Day Theme: Honoring Agreements

August 14, 2013 Stakeholders Pledging Session

resources. Meanwhile, there are important questions that need to be answered: How will the Indigenous Communities view the different development projects that will enter within their Ancestral Domain? How will the native title be treated as well as the rights of the Indigenous Communities pertaining to this? It is clear as stated in the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) that the drafting of the Bangsamoro Basic Law shall agree on the International guidelines such of that stipulated on the United Nation Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and the International Labor Organization (ILO) 169. These laws are implemented or observed in the Philippines through the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA). According to the law, the Indigenous Communities have royalty share and priority rights including the free and prior informed consent on any development project that will enter especially to their Ancestral Domains. I want to end this silence. I want to search for answers to the questions and apprehensions relating to this very important discussion because the future of the Indigenous Communities will not be far different from what they have experienced under R.A 9054, if this will not be given clarity in the Bangsamoro Basic Law. Respectfully yours, FROILYN TENORIO MENDOZA

August 14, 2013 6th Project Sounding Board Meeting

August 16, 2013 Courtesy visit to newly appointed NCIP Commissioner for South Central Mindanao Bo-I Era Espana

August 23, 2013 Inputs on IP Issues to the UNICEF Review of 2005 Gender Guidelines for Humanitarian Workers

A SUMMARY

Breathing life into IP farming practices

ONE lamentable reality is that more indigenous peoples now practice chemical farming. Whizzing by rice and corn fields along the countrysides, you could actually miss the awesome and relaxing green scenery with all those huge placards and signs bearing such explosive names as Dynamite, DynaForce, Wallop and so on, seemingly blasting away the already vanishing indigenous practices in agriculture. What seems cruel is that IP farmers are being ensnared into using chemical-based farm inputs by offers of better yield and revenue coupled with free tshirts, caps, jackets or umbrellas. IPDEV, however, found out there are still many IPs who are aware of indigenous and sustainable practices enough basis to revive, revitalize, and upgrade their time-tested natural and sustainable way of farming and other agricultural practices. The project embarked on a threepronged training program designed for the four indigenous tribes in 80 barangays in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. These are the Teduray, Lambangian and Dulangan Manobo in Maguindanao and Higaonon in Wao, Lanao del Sur. Some 180 individuals were selected

August 26, 2013 Continuation of Training on Campaign and Advocacy Management; IP Communications Group Organized

August 27, 2013 Roundtable Discussion on IP Mandatory Representatives

August 28, 2013 Participation in the Launching of Our Mindanao of MindaNews

IP farmers are being ensnared into using chemical-based farm inputs by offers of better yield and revenue coupled with free tshirts, caps, jackets or umbrellas.

to undergo 3-day trainings in batches on Sustainable Agriculture, Upland Farming and Coastal Resource Management. These selected participants, trained by experts, will transfer and apply the knowledge they learned in their respective barangays or villages. The trainings were conducted in batches from September 10 to 12 and 17 to 20 in Upi, Maguindanao. Another set of training was scheduled on November 5-6, 2013, at barangay Milaya, Wao, Lanao Del Sur, a mountain-locked town. They will be introduced to Korean method in hog

raising and bamboo handicraft . During the trainings, the participants showed great interest in practical tips on goat raising as well as vermicomposting which they found doable and economically helpful. They saw the economic value of diversified farming thru agro-forestry; the technical bending technique on coffee and organic vegetables. In an earlier activity, IPDEV brought batches of farmers from the four indigenous tribes in ARMM to Don Bosco in Makilala, Cotabato Province, for an exposure and at the same time provide a venue for an exchange in

ideas on their respective indigenous agricultural practices and how best they can be improved on. The activity allowed an opportunity for the IPs to retrace a historical transect on indigenous agricultural practices, and realized that their farmlands used to be productive until the entry of Green Revolution in the 70s, which a decade after and until the present, chemical farming proved to be a disaster, especially to small farmers like them and the environment. IP farmers who are used to subsistence farming were also lured

August 28, 2013 Participation in Pakighinabi: Peace Lens

August 30, 2013 Courtesy visit to newly-appointed NCIP Chair Atty Leonor Quintayo

September 2013 Continuation of Training on Campaign & Advocacy Management

by promises of chemical farming and have become mono-crop minded planting only one popular (placardborne) variety of corn. Many of them became debt-ridden with their lands falling to lenders as loan-guarantee. As such, they could not afford good education for their children. In the same activity, they were told that ecology is the backbone of sustainable agriculture and that everything is interrelated. Many IP farmers realized that Even if a farm is in the farthest mountain, the chemicals they use will affect them and their community - The chemicals you use will seep into the river and go into the sea. The salt you use in cooking comes from sea water. It is possible that you will ingest the very chemicals you use in your farms! The IP farmers committed to do away and campaign against chemicalbased farming and work to promote traditional farming (kaingin)- tagad

in Teduray, which involve harrowing before planting, the bayanihan system of helping one another, sharing of harvest to the neighborhood suunos in Teduray, hand shelling, hauling of harvested crop manually or by farm animal. Already, the Dulangan Manobo farmers have started a zero-chemical integrated farming by planting 100 coconut seedlings and 200 rubber seedlings in their farmlands. The seedlings came from th provincial government. Councilor Fred Ibanez, an IP Mandatory Representative to the town council of Upi in Maguindanao, committed to pass a resolution banning the use of herbicide in his town. What could be among best approaches in empowering indigenous peoples than allowing them to breathe life into an already fading tradition in indigenous agriculture.

September 4-6, 2013 Input of IP issues into the ARMM Strategic Planning with CSOs

September 5, 2013 Meeting of Governor Mujiv Hataman and NCIP Comm. Bo-I Era Espaa on IPRA implementation in ARMM

STAKEHOLDERS PLEDGING SESSION

Going beyond duty

September 2013 Trainings on Sustainable Agriculture, Coastal Resource Management, Upland Development

A YEAR and a half into its implementation, the project reported its findings on how to pursue needed responses with clear and relevant initiatives or undertakings. Such was presented before 40 guests and participants of the Stakeholders Pledging Session conducted by IPDEV on August 14, 2013, at the IAG Conference Hall. The event was attended by newly appointed commissioner for Central Mindanao Bo-i Era Espaa of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), who was the main guest.

Having been updated by the report, Espaa committed to seriously follow through the Ancestral Domain Claim of the Teduray, Lambangian, and Dulangan Manobo which was filed in 2005 and is still languishing with NCIP. ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman arrived just in time to see the report on the findings. A surprised IPDEV Project Manager Aveen Acua-Gulo said We have been inviting him in many of our activities, but, much to our desire to have him join us, we fully understand his busy schedule. Yet, he came today. Acua-Gulo showed in her

presentation that the TLADMADC (Teduray Lambangian Dulangan Manobo Ancestral Domain Claimants) have already secured funds from the European Union and the Christian Childrens Fund (CCFD) which will be used to conduct the needed survey. Also, the funding gap is already being looked into by the International Labor Organization, she said. The same group of claimants have already been assisted by NCIP Region 12 Office to come up with their work and financial plan, and that only a work order from the NCIP main office is needed to get things going.

September 10-14, 2013 Women in Normalization WeACT Addressing the stakeholders and participants, Hataman pointed out that his presence in the Stakeholders Pledging Session is proof of his commitment to have the Ancestral Domain Claim delineated by the rightful government agency, which is the NCIP. My work with the IPs in the ARMM started long before I became a congressman, the ARMM governor said. As a congressman, I filed a resolution against the intrusion of big logging companies in Upi. Now that I am in the ARMM, my support will now be in the bigger context. Hataman said, I am Moro yet I am also a minority. That is why I feel

September 2013 Trainings for Volunteer Para-Technicians

September 13, 2013 UNDRIP Day Celebration: Tikaf (Foxtail Millet) harvest on Mt Fakal, Planting of coconut seedlings in Upi Agri School NCIP can send them a draft of the memorandum of agreement soon. This way, he said, the delivery of basic services will be faster. He prodded the NCIP to have the courage to set up the NCIP-ARMM. I will provide you with an office right inside the Office of the Regional Governor. My prayer is simple: that before I step down to usher the entry of the Bangsamoro entity, this issue of the IP (delineation) will be completed. I am a minority, and I am one with you in your struggle. To work things out, he suggested, three persons from the NCIP and three persons from the ARMM will be appointed to compose the technical working group.

what you are going through. Through arrangements made by IPDEV, we last talked to the NCIP in June. But I have not heard from them since that time. I dont think it is right that IPDEV would be the one more active in following this through. It is the mandate of regional government to protect the interests of the IPs in the ARMM. We have fully studied the legal implications, and in our meeting with NCIP in the presence of presidential peace process adviser Deles and government peace negotiating panel chair Ferrer early this year, nothing is preventing them from coming to the ARMM, Hataman further said. Hataman expressed hope that

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September 14, 2013 Kamamaal Kaadatan (Keeper of Knowledge) Orlando Rendaw Mosela goes on live radio interview on Balitang Lumad

September 21, 2013 Paralegal Training

September 23, 2013 Review of Guidelines for IP Mandatory Representatives

IPDEV radio program airs

Balitang Lumad
Saturdays 10am - 11am
DXMY 729 Khz

The IPDEV radio program aired its maiden broadcast on August 3, 2013, over local radio station DXMY (or RMN Cotabato). It is a community radio show for mainstreaming the Indigenous Peoples agenda within the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. One can listen to issues, concerns, and updates every Saturday from 10am to 11am. Anyone can also follow the live broadcast via internet at www.ustream.tv/channel/ dxmy-cotabato. The radio show is anchored by an IPDEV staff with the participation of IP leaders and resource persons that discuss topics on IP-relevant issues, milestones and events. The title of the radio show is Balitang Lumad. The program design also allows for audience participation - with exciting rewards and giveaway novelties.

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THE long trip to Compostela Valley (ComVal) province in Mindanaos southeastern portion on June 18 proved fruitful for the 24 men and women from the Teduray, Lambangian, Dulangan Manobo and Higaonon Tribes from the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. They found out for themselves how fellow Indigenous Peoples from that place - the Mansaka, Mandaya, Manobo, Dibabawon, Mangguangan and Kagan, confront and overcome challenges as they live with their customary practices and time-tested tribal laws. Best traditional practices and tribal governance along with the support of government shield the IPs from exploitation and abuse, said Shirley Iguianon, provincial officer of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples. What the IPs in ComVal now have, however, was not readily served before them. They worked hard for it. After long, arduous years of follow up, of course, with the unrelentless facilitation of the local NCIP and informed support from the ComVal local government, they were able to get their Certificates of Ancestral Domain Titles (CADTs). The IPs from ARMM also learned how the six tribes in ComVal are confident with their knowledge and skills, allowing them to say no and present sustainable options in negotiating with banana plantations, mining firms and logging companies. They stand as co-equals in managing resources that are within their

SNAPS FROM THE COMPOSTELA VALLEY EXPOSURE TRIP

Discovering best practices

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ancestral domain. The group also went to Pamulaan, or better known as IP University in Mintal, Davao City, where they saw how education using indigenous knowledge, skills and practices (IKSPs) are being maximized to revive leadership structures that have survived thousands of years. They saw how these IKSPs will fortify themselves in facing up and adjusting to the seemingly insurmountable influence of external governance structures.

September 26, 2013 Orientation on Registration of IP Organizations

September 26, 2013 Sharing of UN Volunteer Alumni on current Engagements with new UNV Country Representative Soo-Jin Chen

September 28, 2013 Video Documentation of Paksul II: Hill 224, A Year After

NCIP in ARMM, Why not?

NCIP says that it is not authorized to operate within the ARMM. I ask, who told you that you are not mandated to assist the IP within the ARMM. I am telling you, no one is preventing you from assisting the Indigenous People or the tribal people within the ARMM. The NCIP should take the courage to establish NCIPARMM. I will provide an office inside the Office of the Regional Governor. The NCIP Region XII will just have to establish an office in the ARMM. The Regional Government will assist in fast tracking the process for [the survey of] the Ancestral Domain claim.
Gov. Mujiv Hataman could not have said it better, to raise the hopes of the Indigenous Peoples within the core territory of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). The authoritative statements tie the central message of his speech during the multi-stakeholders forum that was facilitated by the IPDEV on August 14, 2013 in Cotabato City. With these, Hataman punctuates the long-standing alibi of the previous regional administrations that the ARMM could not implement the IPRA to secure the interests of the IPs because the NCIP has no legal mandate in the region. Amid grateful smiles and resounding claps, Hatamans declaration parts the veil of desperation that has dampened the hopes of the IPs in the ARMM for so long. These are the Tedurays, Lambangians, Dulangan Manobos of Maguindanao Province and including some Higaonons, Agusan Manobos, Talaandigs, and Tigwahanons residing in Wao, Lanao del Sur.

FYI

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September 28-29, 2013 Participation in the Semeyaan Festival, Libungan, Cotabato

September 25, 2013 Participation in the Security Summit, Ateneo de Davao

September 29-30, 2013 Participation in the Bangsamoro Transition Commission Consultations on IP issues

To give what is rightfully theirs

THE journey for Lumad recognition in the ARMM did not start yesterday, last year or in the last decade. Like many of its fellow Lumads in Mindanao, it has suffered, in the words of researchers minoritization with the entry of settlers and their different versions of development. Right after the EDSA Revolution, a bill for Indigenous Peoples Rights was filed, in the same year that a bill creating an autonomous region in Mindanao was filed. Today as we all celebrate the 18th Celebration of the International Day of the Worlds Indigenous Peoples, let us recall some markers in recent history. August 9 is the date declared by the UN General Assembly in December of 1994 and was celebrated the year after. Year 1997 was a landmark period for the Indigenous Peoples in the Philippines. It was the year that a law protecting the rights of Indigenous

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As pacts and agreements were forged orally in the ways of our forefathers, manifestation of this Word of Honor is the issuance of the Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title.

October 1, 2013 Teduray Ancestral Domain Sustainable Development Protection Plan (ADSDPP) Adoption and & Ritual Peoples was passed. What took about three years to pass a law creating the ARMM took 11 arduous years for IPRA to be passed. IPRA as we all know seeks to recognize, promote and protect the rights of the Indigenous Peoples. These bundle of rights include the Right to Ancestral Domain; the Right to Self-Governance and Empowerment; Social Justice and Human Rights; and Right to Cultural Integrity. In 2003, the Regional Legislative Assembly adopted Resolution No 269 to ensure the application of IPRA in the ARMM; and mandating the Office of Southern Cultural Communities to formulate the implementing rules and regulations. In 2005, Resolution No 119 was passed by the Regional Legislative Assembly approving the implementation of Resolution No 269 for the delineation of the ancestral domain claims of the non-Moro IPs in the ARMM. In 2006, Administrative Order No 1 was issued these are guidelines in the implementation of the Free and Prior Informed Consent or FPIC. FPIC is the consensus of all members of the Indigenous Cultural Communities which is determined in accordance with their respective customary laws and practices that is free from any

October 1, 2013 Inputs on Designing the New Bangsamoro Electoral Systems (IFES)

external manipulation, interference and coercion and obtained after fully disclosing the intent and scope of the program/project/activity, in a language and process the community understands. In 2007, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) was passed. In 2008, Muslim Mindanao Autonomy Act 241 or what is better known as the Tribal Peoples Rights Act, was passed. The implementing rules and regulations were reviewed and finally passed five years after, in 2012.

Glimmer of Hope Twenty-seven years after EDSA Revolution, sixteen years after the passing of IPRA, ten years after Resolution 269, five years after MMAA 241 it was pronounced by the ARMM Government early this year that there is no legal impediment in implementing the IPRA in the ARMM. Moreover, the newly appointed members of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) have just assumed office in August 1. Though long in coming, these two developments provide a glimmer of hope in the journey of the Lumad

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October 4, 2013 Participation in Pakighinabi - Forum on Power Sharing (ForumZFD)

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in the ARMM. It is hoped that the endless passing around of the Lumads in the ARMM, marginalized as they are, would finally come to a stop. As this years theme is: Indigenous Peoples Building Alliances: Honouring Treaties, Agreements and other Constructive Arrangements, we support the call of the Lumads in the ARMM for the NCIP to look at IPRA again as the governments peace agreement with the Indigenous Peoples. As pacts and agreements were forged orally in the ways of our forefathers, manifestation of this Word of Honor is the issuance of the Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title

(CADT). The Lumads in the ARMM Teduray, Lambangian, Dulangan Manobo and Higaonon need all the support they can get. From us who are in privileged positions, let this be a call. Remember that we, too, at certain points in our history, also suffered oppression from the powerful and the mighty. Let us not be the oppressors of today by depriving the Lumads of what are rightfully theirs. As Nelson Mandela quoted Williamson in his inaugural speech: Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate; our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. Let the implementation of

IPRA be the legacy. On behalf of our operating partners the Institute for Autonomy and Governance (IAG), Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), and Development Consultants (DEVCON); funders European Commission (EC) and German Government IPDEV as an independent entity reiterates its support to all initiatives that will recognize the Lumads in the ARMM for their empowerment and sustainable development. Meuyag!
IPDEV project manager Aveen Acua-Gulo delivered this statement of support to the Indigenous Peoples during a celebration marking the 18th World Indigenous Peoples Day on August 9, 2013, in Cotabato City, Philippines.

6TH PROJECT SOUNDING BOARD

Firming up every step

DEVCONs Irene Dillo, IPDEVs Aveen Acuna-Gulo & Miriam Fischer and IAGs Benny Bacani honored former NCIP Commissioner Santos Unsad with the IPDEV plaque of appreciation

THE Sixth Project Sounding Board (PSB) on August 15, 2013, took up for review major breakthroughs for the quarter like the capacitybuilding activities conducted in 80 barangays, particularly trainings on Tribal Governance & Justice Systems, Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), Para-legal and Advocacy Management. The trainings in the barangays covered 2,840 individuals which include 1,494 or 53 percent males and 1,346 or 47 percent females. In terms of peoples distribution,

there were only a handful of Moro and non-IPs or about four percent who attended the trainings. There was an overwhelming 2,706 participants who belong to either Teduray, Dulangan Manobo, Lambangian, Higaonon and other IP groups. As for sectoral distribution of the participants, some 1,166 are with the women sector, 933 are farmers/ fisherfolks, 352 tribal leaders , 186 with the Barangay Local Government Units, 160 from the youth sector and 43 from other sectors (education, business, professionals).

Notably, the least attended training activity was in Gata, Wao in Lanao del Sur where there were only 21 participants while the barangay with the highest participation was in Mirab, Upi in Maguindanao with 59 participants and in Kuya, also in Upi, with 54 participants. The board also discussed major development at the national level particularly on the new leadership of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) with the appointment of Atty Leonor Quintayo as chair of the commission. Atty. Quintayo used to

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be with NCIP Region XI in Mindanao. The appointment of Quintayo came as IP leaders from all over the country urged the government to overhaul NCIP for its alleged lackluster to non-performance of its functions to uphold IP rights; apart from holding a controversial record on favoring mining companies on the issuance of FPIC certificates while ignoring rights of IPs to their lands. A petition paper forwarded to President Benigno Aquino III called on government to revamp the NCIP to remove those who have been proven to work against the rights and interests of IPs and support a comprehensive independent initiative to review the implementation of the

Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA). NCIPs record as of December 2010, shows that only 156 certificates of ancestral domain title were issued to clans covering 4.3 million hectares of which only 37 CADTs were registered covering some 936 hectares. There are an estimated 7.5 million hectares of IP lands in the country. Much noticeable among IP leaders is the quick issuance of FPIC certificates favoring moneyedmining companies as compared to slow issuance of CADTS to IPs. The PSB, done quarterly, is an advisory group of 15-20 members from different stakeholders who provide feedback and guidance on issues arising in the course of the projects lifetime.

NCIPs record as of December 2010, shows that only 156 certificates of ancestral domain title were issued to clans covering 4.3 million hectares of which only 37 CADTs were registered covering some 936 hectares.

A ritual of approval

THE ADOPTION OF THE TEDURAY ADSDPP

POMP and color marked the day when Teduray people went out of their way to take part in rites leading to the adoption of their Ancestral Domain Sustainable Development and Protection Plan (ADSDPP). The Teduray people came in their best as they gathered for the Kanduli Temulak Matun Fenturoy, a ritual. The event in October 1 also ushered in the month-long observance of 2013 Indigenous Peoples Month, making it more memorable and meaningful to the Teduray who put up the Kanduli, sealing the adoption of the ADSDPP. The ADSDPP, as adopted by the Teduray tribe, was crafted over a period of 17 months, through a series

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of consultations and dialogues among leaders and constituents. With its adoption, the Teduray ADSDPP becomes a blueprint or reference, that any development program or project that is introduced within their ancestral domain shall be pursued in keeping with the Tedurays indigenous knowledge, skills and practices (IKSPs). It is because the ADSDPP is an expressed manifestation of the needs and aspirations of the Teduray people. It is a binding instrument that lists the Tedurays own policies, mechanisms and strategies for the sustainable management and development of all resources within the domain, to include cultural and human resources as called for in Administrative Order No 1 Series of 2004 of the National Commission of Indigenous Peoples. To many Tedurays, the adoption of their ADSDPP marks a special milestone in their quest to assert

their rights over a territory that has been passed on by their ancestors for centuries through oral tradition, using natural markers like rivers, rocks, trees among others. The IP concept of ancestral domain is private land owned by a community, in this case, the community is the Teduray people. Like most other IPs, the Tedurays tend not to resort to violence when harassed. Such nature may have emboldened individuals and groups who turned Teduray ancestral lands into camps of revolutionary groups, or subdivided into municipalities, and titled as their own by political families. In the past, Tedurays who fled atrocities by intruders, would find logging sites and plantations in their return to the lands they left. What remains so far of the Teduray domain is 309,720 hectares, consisting of 215,941 hectares of land and 93,779 hectares of coastal waters.

... a territory that has been passed on by their ancestors for centuries through oral tradition, using natural markers like rivers, rocks, trees among others.

A simple Menuvu wedding

One will be full of pinch after the seven turns. The stinging pinch signifies the acceptance of the relatives and the community. This is the happiest part of the ceremony.

TRADITIONALLY, marriage ceremonies among Indigenous Peoples in the Philippines have their own twists and turns. That, did not escape Cebuano Mario Catubay Jr, when he took for his wife Juvy, a full-blooded Erumanen Ne Menuvu and a lone daughter at that. Mario described that union rite as A very simple yet so meaningful wedding. It took place on that eventful April 16, 2003. Mario then works for indigenous communities and still continues to do so as Community Development Specialist of IPDEV. A well-known tribal leader in the person of Timuay Faustino Taburo officiated the Manobo wedding in one end of Akir-akir (Agkir-agkir) mountain range, specifically located at sitio Baganalan, Mapurok, Alamada in Cotabato. The event actually runs for three days starting with Abeton ta kayu on the day before the wedding, with the man fetching water or bring two bundles (man and wife) of firewood to the womans home. If the parents of the woman throws them away, no wedding takes place. Of course, it goes without saying, Marios firewood bundles were accepted. On D-Day of the wedding, Adboron boron or a festive preparation takes place at the grooms house, where kins and relatives of the groom gather. At the brides home, the women are in Gebubong

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where the bride and all other ladies encircling her, are totally covered with blankets. The blankets represents protection from possible bad spirits. The ladies serve as the brides maids called srpu. Yells of Tehoy (sounds as ya!ya!ya! yohoy!) could then be heard as the mans party march merrily by the womans house. This signals the womans party that the men are coming for the wedding. As they enter the womans house, the grooms party pays the Rdtan, sort of an entrance fee which when accepted, allows the mans party to continue marching merrily seven times around the woman with brides maids still fully covered in blankets, while yelling ya!ya!ya! yohoy! (tehoy). This signifies a march through the altar And while they are marching, the relatives of the woman would literally pinch anyone of the marching party. One will be full of pinch after the seven turns. The stinging pinch signifies the acceptance of the relatives and the community.This is the happiest part of the ceremony. Luwsn then takes place as the man removes the blanket and happily takes his woman. The relatives then joyfully yell. This means that the wedding has been signed by God (Krnen). The man then does the Ulamby, by sitting beside the left side of the woman and put his arm across her shoulder. This signifies their being one. Ply-plyon would then be done to the pair by their respective fathers who will simultaneously lay them down momentarily and bring them again to sit up. This move means only death can put the man and the woman apart.

The ceremony further goes with Sungity with the groom and bride putting food into each others mouth. Food here is represented with mama (beetlenut chew) and sigupan (tobacco). The gesture means that what the man eats can also be eaten by the woman. The Timuay then slaughters a young chicken, pulls out a feather and dip it into the chicken blood and smears it to the mans and womans palms. What the Timuay did is Pmaras/Plangsa, a confirmation in front of God and people that the two are now man and wife. The Timuay then embarks on a rather long sermon Pmandu, talking about loving each ones relatives and a serene and abundant life. The wedding rites enter its third day with Pnhunan T Maselm or the test for serenity and good life. The morning after the wedding, the newly weds are instructed to go to a nearby water (creek) and listen to the silence, and for the man to bring firewood in returning home. Going out early morning and listening to water and the silence inspires serenity in mind and life, while the bringing of firewood is an inspiration not to go hungry in life. The couple will then eat together for the first time (Pdthunan). The parents keenly observe what part of the chicken dish any of the newly weds take first. If any of them take the chicken legs, it is a bad omen. It means a life in hunger. Mario first took the wings and head. Wings means good life, and head means becoming a leader.

Coordination Office

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Implementing Office

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